Korean Coleslaw

Often when I’m browsing online for recipes, I print one I like, save it, and keep the stack of recipes in my kitchen.

Which is silly, because I have boxes of recipes glued on cards stemming from my childhood, and even folders for saved recipes that are organized by the season and, of course, my cookbooks. I guess one can never have too many recipes.

So I was browsing through my recipe “stack,” and I saw the words “gochujang” and “coleslaw” together. What? There it was – a coleslaw, with a dressing containing Gochujang!!

I only recently discovered the Korean barbecue paste, and used it on pork tenderloin. What a wonderful flavor this paste imparts.

Turns out that the coleslaw recipe is from Abbe’s blog “This is How I Cook.” Not only does she have a great blog, she has the cutest dog, Geordie.

I made a few adjustments, mostly adding more gochujang to the coleslaw dressing.

Korean Coleslaw

1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons gochujang
1-2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 tablespoon agave

4 cups shredded cabbage, purple and white
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 cup grated carrots
8 green onions, sliced
1 bunch cilantro, cleaned, chopped
Black sesame seeds, optional
Peanuts, optional

First prepare the gochujang dressing in a small blender jar and set aside.

Place the purple and white cabbages, red bell pepper, and carrots in a large bowl. Mix well.

Add the dressing and stir. Let sit for 1-2 hours to soften the cabbage slightly. Taste before continuing with the recipe.

Add the green onions and cilantro and mix together.

To serve, sprinkle the coleslaw with sesame seeds.

If I’d only used purple cabbage, I would have also used white sesame seeds.

Then add some peanuts.

If you want it spicier, add more Sriracha sauce and stir well, but you don’t want it to overpower the gochujang.

And for heaven’s sake, slice your own cabbage. Don’t buy those terrible bags of coleslaw!

It’s fresher and it’s cheaper!

This coleslaw was fantastic! It would be great with salmon or chicken on top as well. Thanks Abbe!

By Published On: September 25th, 201750 Comments on Korean Coleslaw

About the Author: Chef Mimi

As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!

50 Comments

  1. sallybr September 25, 2017 at 7:55 AM - Reply

    not sure hubby would go for this, but it has my name written all over! Love gochujang… would omit the mayo and use something else, but other than that….

    love it all!

    • chef mimi September 25, 2017 at 7:57 AM - Reply

      Mine didn’t either. I ate it all. I really like the combination of mayo and sour cream for cole slaw, chicken salad, and so forth. Mayo supplies some zing. But then, some people (husband) hate mayonnaise.

  2. cookingwithauntjuju.com September 25, 2017 at 8:09 AM - Reply

    I am the cole slaw eater in my family and I love to try different kinds. I use sour cream/mayo in my potato salad among other recipes. I bet the gochujang and sriracha add some great flavor.

    • chef mimi September 25, 2017 at 8:11 AM - Reply

      They really added a depth in flavor – I didn’t want to overdo it! You should love this recipe!

  3. cookinginsens September 25, 2017 at 8:22 AM - Reply

    Fabulous!

    • chef mimi September 26, 2017 at 8:22 AM - Reply

      Thank you! It was pretty wonderful!

  4. Gerlinde @ Sunnycovechef September 25, 2017 at 8:52 AM - Reply

    This looks like a wonderful salad Mimi. I understand when it comes to collecting recipes and cookbooks, I have stacks all over my house .

    • chef mimi September 25, 2017 at 10:40 AM - Reply

      Oh good! Mine are at least in the kitchen!

  5. Darya September 25, 2017 at 9:09 AM - Reply

    I love Korean pepper, and this coleslaw sounds absolutely delicious. I would love it! Thank you for sharing

  6. Kiki September 25, 2017 at 10:17 AM - Reply

    Very colourful, and it looks delicious. Has all the ingredients I like – except I still haven’t bought any gochujang, which has been on my “to buy” list since one of your previous posts mentioned it.
    I, too, have a stack of recipes printed off the web, and that’s how I happened upon the one scheduled for this week :-) . I have managed to greatly reduce the number of cookbooks on my shelf as well as the printed stack; nowadays I bookmark everything in the browser, but who knows when I’ll ever get to try making all those recipes…

    • chef mimi September 25, 2017 at 10:39 AM - Reply

      I have recipes planned through December. I’m an over planner!!!

      • Kiki September 25, 2017 at 1:49 PM

        Wish I could plan that far ahead! At the moment I’m happy to be just 1 week ahead :-D

  7. Julie is Hostess At Heart September 25, 2017 at 11:26 AM - Reply

    John is going to love this! We love coleslaw and the spicy flavors are perfect for us. I haven’t tried the Korean paste but am definitely going to have to.

    • chef mimi September 25, 2017 at 11:31 AM - Reply

      Oh you need to. And mixed with ketchup, garlic, ginger and a little soy, it’s a fabulous bbq sauce/marinade!

  8. Angela@grapegravy​ September 25, 2017 at 1:47 PM - Reply

    This recipe looks yummy! You sound like me, recipe piles, notebooks and boxes oh my!

  9. M.L. Parma September 25, 2017 at 2:57 PM - Reply

    AGNANGHASEO….HELLO >

  10. marcellinaincucina September 25, 2017 at 4:28 PM - Reply

    Yum! This sounds like a fantastic coleslaw! I too, have a whole heap of recipes floating around…never know when a recipe from the past is needed!

  11. mamabatesmotel September 25, 2017 at 7:48 PM - Reply

    Reblogged this on mamabatesmotel.

  12. dishinwithdidi September 26, 2017 at 4:51 AM - Reply

    Mimi, this looks beyond delicious! Thank you so much!

    • chef mimi September 26, 2017 at 6:59 AM - Reply

      You are so welcome – you’ll love it!

  13. Linda Duffin September 26, 2017 at 6:41 AM - Reply

    Genius idea to add gochujang … my husband says thank you!

  14. chefkreso September 26, 2017 at 2:46 PM - Reply

    The dressing really brings everything together :D

  15. Loretta September 26, 2017 at 8:36 PM - Reply

    I don’t believe Ive heard of this Korean paste, but it sure sounds like something I’d love. I’m sure my International Market will carry it. The salad sounds divine, lots of crunch and sweet and salty. What’s with all our recipes all over the place eh? I guess we can’t have enough of them. Then to add insult to injury, I now have them on my desktop computer, my iPad and my iPhone. Oh well, we just all love to cook eh?

    • chef mimi September 26, 2017 at 8:52 PM - Reply

      Hahahaha! I actually do not have recipes on my iphone! You’ve got me beat!

  16. Frank Fariello October 1, 2017 at 7:53 AM - Reply

    It seems to me that anything with a little gochujang has got to be good. :-) Picked some up not too long after reading a blog post about it. I think it may have been yours, if fact…

    • chef mimi October 1, 2017 at 8:31 AM - Reply

      Yes! Isn’t it wonderful?!! (Even though it’s not Italian!!!)

  17. myhomefoodthatsamore October 2, 2017 at 1:46 AM - Reply

    I wonder if I can find Gochuchang in Rome? this dressing sounds very intriguing. I can imagine it even on cold chicken, for a chicken salad of sorts.

    • chef mimi October 2, 2017 at 7:26 PM - Reply

      Oh yes. It makes a wonderful Asian bbq sauce. Is there an Asian area there? Doesn’t seem likely to me, but I had to ask. There’s always Amazon!

  18. Susan (@savoringtime) October 2, 2017 at 7:39 AM - Reply

    I could make a meal of this! I’ll have to look for gochujang now. I’ve just starting putting Togarashi pepper on just about everything I cook so always happy to find a new spicy ingredient. I love Abbe’s blog :)

    • chef mimi October 2, 2017 at 7:25 PM - Reply

      You definitely need to find some – it’s magical!

  19. James October 3, 2017 at 5:59 PM - Reply

    yum! is there a substitute for the sriracha? I don’t love the taste of it!

    • chef mimi October 3, 2017 at 6:41 PM - Reply

      Then just go without. They all are made of hot chile peppers, so they’re all very similar. The salad doesn’t have to be spicy, but the gochujang is important!

  20. Michelle October 4, 2017 at 9:57 PM - Reply

    Fabulous. There are few things that gochujang doesn’t improve. Such a delicious ingredient.

    • chef mimi October 5, 2017 at 7:20 AM - Reply

      Yes! I’m so glad to have discovered it. Cheers to food blogging!

  21. Culinary Flavors October 5, 2017 at 4:49 AM - Reply

    I love Asian kitchen and this coleslaw salad is what i would love to have right now!

  22. Jeff the Chef October 7, 2017 at 7:41 PM - Reply

    Korean cooking is so mysterious to me, but this slaw looks delicious!

    • chef mimi October 7, 2017 at 7:55 PM - Reply

      I really should have called this Korean-inspired coleslaw!

  23. A Cookbook Collection October 18, 2017 at 3:39 PM - Reply

    Mimi I’ve loved catching up on your posts. This looks delicious and you know how much I love gochujang!

  24. orlando788 January 15, 2018 at 10:46 AM - Reply

    I’m a fan of traditional coleslaw! And this one looks so good too in the pictures:) Recipe looks really yum!

    • chef mimi January 15, 2018 at 2:59 PM - Reply

      Thank you! It’s really good!

Leave a Reply to orlando788Cancel reply